The future direction of the airport was decided at a Queenstown Lakes District Council meeting this week.
Councillors unanimously voted to retain the airport’s focus on general aviation while enabling small scheduled flights to Christchurch and potentially Wellington.
Reflecting on the decision, deputy mayor Quentin Smith said, "I think we’ve landed in a place that supports the local community and general aviation really well and it has a limited amount of commercial scheduled services to help support activities at Wānaka".
"It was strongly supported as the preferred option by Wānaka residents and people who were involved in the engagement.
"I think it largely reflects the position of the community."
Cr Smith described the agreed direction as the "status quo plus", allowing for growth and increased use over time, without sending the town into a "large jet aircraft future, which is what many people in Wānaka feared previously".
Wānaka Stakeholders Group chairwoman Meg Taylor said she believed the council made the correct decision in moving forward with the approved scenario, but that its viability must be properly examined as part of the upcoming master planning process.
"The community was very clear that they want a small-scale airport that protects existing general aviation business, that is cost-effectively managed and has financial transparency and a much improved level of oversight and community input.
"Our primary concern is that any master plan for Wānaka be cost-effective and of a scale that doesn’t load either the airport or Upper Clutha ratepayers with further debt when there’s so many infrastructure requirements in this region.
"We feel that the master plan should consider the viability of short-haul domestic flights before recommending expensive infrastructure on the basis that it will happen," Ms Taylor said.
In a report to the council, strategic projects manager Paul Speedy said the scenario chosen required no immediate capital investment beyond work that was already ongoing to meet compliance requirements.
"[It] avoids the environmental, amenity and airspace impacts associated with larger aircraft, and provides the best alignment with community values and local needs."
The council decision followed the recommendations of both Mr Speedy and the independent consultancy company Egis, which ran a community engagement exercise on the future of the airport.
Egis’s consultation found a strong preference for a "general aviation airport" supported by limited turboprop services (less than 30-seat aircraft) to nearby cities.
A clear public preference emerged for the airport to retain its current focus, with regional services preferred to an outcome of no scheduled services to cities like Christchurch and Wellington.
Neither closing the airport, nor opening it up to large aircraft, was supported by the community.
The decision came at what Mr Speedy described as a "pivotal moment" in the airport’s development with regulatory, operational and community drivers creating a need for "operational planning and a longer-term direction".
In 2023, the Civil Aviation Authority issued formal notice that the airport must meet a higher standard of compliance by July 2027, requiring mandatory safety, operational and management upgrades.
Then, in 2025, Sounds Air ended its services to the airport, leaving Wānaka with no scheduled regional services, intensifying community interest in the airport’s future.
With that future now decided, the council has directed officers to report back with options for implementing a new airport master plan to deliver the scenario chosen by councillors.
— Additional reporting Evie Sinclair
